The Curse
by WindowChild
Summary: AU. Ponyboy starts having prophetic dreams, and predicts Johnny's death. But if no one will believe they're real, who will try to stop the dreams' events from coming true?
1. The Dream

"Pony, wake up," Soda said. He shook his brother, wiping the younger boy's sweat from his brow. "Pony, Pony," he whispered. "Come on, it's just a dream." He grit his teeth, as if literally holding onto his nerves.

Ponyboy rolled over, still whimpering to himself. "No…"

"Another nightmare?" Darry stepped into the room, shirtless and tired looking. He had bags under his eyes, and Soda felt guilty.

"Go back to bed, Dar. He'll be okay."

Darry shook his head. "Nah, I'll wait it out with you." He joined them on the bed, stroking Pony's sodden hair. His nightmares had become infrequent, however, they were all the worse when they did decide to strike.

Pony let out a low wail, and Darry sprang up from the bed. "Jesus. We have to get him up, Soda. This one seems bad."

"Yeah, okay," Soda answered. He puffed air into his cheeks, trying to remain calm. "Pony," he called. "Pony!"

Pony's eyes finally opened, a scared and surprised expression on his face. He panted for a few seconds, and then promptly burst into quiet tears.

"I'll get him some water," Darry said, giving Pony a little pat on the back.

"What's the matter, baby?" Soda asked, imitating their mother in every way possible. He pulled Pony over to him, as she had often done, and held him tight.

"Nothing," Pony sniffled. "Stupid, I guess. Just dreamin'…" His tears began to quell, but he continued to shake. Soda wrapped their navy blanket around him.

Darry returned, carrying a glass. "Here, drink this, Ponyboy."

Soda helped him up, and Pony took a few reluctant sips. "Thanks…" he murmured, placing it on the nightstand.

"You want to talk about it?" Darry asked. He looked almost challenging, a fierce glint in his icy eyes. Pony couldn't tell whether that meant he _wanted_ to hear, or not.

"No, I'm okay," Pony said weakly.

"Okay," Darry said, nodding slowly. "Can you go back to bed, now? You do have school tomorrow, kid."

"Yeah, I can go back to sleep," Pony echoed. He wiped his forehead, leaving marks between the sweat.

It was only once Darry had left, and they heard his door close, that Pony turned to his other brother.

"It was a bad one, Soda."

"Yeah," Soda said, nodding and rubbing Pony's shoulder blades. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Pony shrugged. "You'll think I'm crazy."

"No I won't," Soda said, honestly.

"Fine," Pony said. He was calmer now, anyway, and ready to talk about it. "I had a weird dream about Johnny and me."

"Johnny?" Soda asked.

Pony nodded. "Yeah. He and I ran away some place. And Soda," at this point his eyes widened, fear spewing from the way they darted around the room, "There was this fire, and Johnny – Johnny didn't make it."

Soda smiled a little, ruffling Pony's hair. "Now come on Pony, that's the weirdest one you've had yet. You're just worried about Johnny cause of everything that's happened." His glanced softened with sympathy, as he noticed the concerned way Pony's mouth twisted around.

"Go back to sleep, okay? Darry's right, you've got school tomorrow."

Pony made a face, but scooted under the blanket as he'd been told. It was warmer there anyway, and he felt safer.

Without meaning to, his thoughts traveled to Johnny. Where was he tonight? It was kind of cold out, and windy. It wasn't safe for him to spend all night outside.

"Soda?" Pony whispered, rolling closer to him. "Where do you think Johnny is?"

"Don't know, Pony," Soda whispered, already half-asleep. "I'm sure he's fine."

Johnny was never _fine_ though, and Pony's dream certainly didn't make him worry any less. He never mentioned it to his brothers, but sometimes his dreams came true. Like the one where Soda left him all alone at school. That had come true, when Soda had dropped out to take the job at the Dx. Pony hadn't mentioned it though, since he worried it would make Soda feel bad.

Pony lay awake for several hours, even as he heard Soda's soft snores beside him. It was too hard to sleep, when he had to worry what he would see when he shut his eyes.

A/N: I know that it's super, super short but the chapters will definitely get longer as they go along. Please review, reviews are wonderful encouragement!


	2. Johnny

"Hey Johnny, wait up," Pony called. He raced after his friend, his legs gracing the pavement with their impeccable speed.

"Oh… hey Pony," Johnny greeted, turning around. He was smiling, but only slightly.

"I didn't know you came to school today," Pony said. He grinned. It was always great when Johnny came. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Johnny shrugged, looking embarrassed for one reason or another. "I didn't see you." He continued to trudge along the sidewalk, eyes glued to the street.

"What's eatin' ya, Johnnycake?" Pony asked. He took a leap forward, landing beside Johnny.

Johnny shrugged. "Not much."

Pony's eyes flickered up and down Johnny's face, looking for new bruises or scars. There were none, and he felt perplexed. "We haven't seen you in a while," he said. "Why don't you come along for dinner tonight? Darry said he might make somethin' tonight."

"Aw, not tonight Ponyboy," Johnny said, shaking his head.

"Why not?"

"Just… I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" He rounded the nearest corner, even though Pony was fairly certain there was nothing for him to visit there.

Pony shook his head, feeling worried. Johnny was often quiet and moody, but he rarely alienated anyone. At least, he rarely alienated Ponyboy. The younger boy sighed, kicking a pebble as he finished the walk home. Ever since that dream, all of his thoughts had been centered on Johnny. He was beginning to feel like he'd never worried _enough_ before.

"Pony!"

"Mmm?" Pony jumped out of the way, just in time to avoid Two-Bit hitting him with a cartwheel.

"Hey Pony," Two-Bit said. He jumped upright, grinning wider than anyone else could. "Your brothers' home?"

"Don't know," Pony said, "I haven't been in yet. But Darry has work…"

Two-Bit followed Pony up the steps, and through the unlocked door. "You know, I went by the Dx today."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Soda said that he and Steve were goin' out tonight."

"Oh," Pony said, disappointed. "He didn't tell me that."

Two-Bit nodded, grabbing a plate of cake from the fridge. "What are those girls' names again?"

"Soda's?" Pony asked.

Two-Bit nodded, mouth too full for him to talk.

"Sandy," Pony answered, at once. "And Steve's is Evie, I think."

"Got myself a date, too," Two-Bit said. He was still chewing, but had swallowed enough to successfully get out words. Pony winced. "Jennifer. Tuff girl, although not blonde enough for me."

Pony smiled. Two-Bit could reel off a good romance story even better than Soda, sometimes. "Why are you going out with her then?"

"Dal wanted us to get a pair of girls, and take 'em down to the Dingo," Two-bit explained. "Don't think he got one though, so we're just going to be sharing Jennifer." He smiled toothily, taking another fork of chocolate cake, "Hey, do you want some of this?"

Pony glanced at the crumbly mess of chocolate that remained. "I'm alright."

"Wait, so you and Dal are going out too?"

"Sure thing."

"Great, just me and Darry then," Pony muttered, getting some orange juice from the fridge.

"Hey there, Pony. Darry's a good guy, you know." Two-Bit's voice was unusually stern, and so Pony just nodded. There was no point in arguing, really.

"Two-Bit?" Pony asked, after a minute had gone by.

"Yeah?"

"Have you seen Johnny lately?"

"Johnny?" he thought for a minute, exaggerating the experience with as much humor as he could. "Not since Saturday, I don't think."

"Me neither," Pony said, softly. "I ran into him today, but he didn't want to come over."

Two-Bit shrugged. "Maybe he's busy."

"With what?" Pony sipped the juice, licking the top of his lip.

The door opened then, and their conversation was cut short.

"Hey Darry," Pony said dully. Even when Darry wasn't acting particularly harsh, Pony couldn't help but keep his guard up. School nights were particularly bad, because there was always the chance that Darry would yell at him about his grades.

"Listen Pony," Darry said, before even saying hello to them. "Soda's not gonna be here tonight, so I thought I'd just make eggs for us."

"I know, Two-Bit told me," Pony said. He shrugged. "Eggs are fine."

Two-Bit gave wave. "Hi Darry. I've gotta run, okay? Dal's gonna be waiting."

Darry gave a nod and a strained smile, as Two-Bit took a final mouthful of cake and headed out the door.

"Did he eat all of this?" Darry asked, almost incredulously.

"Just what was left," Pony replied. "I'm gonna go finish my homework, okay?" Never mind that he hadn't started yet.

"Good job, kid," Darry said. His smile seemed more genuine and relaxed now. "I'll start dinner."

Pony hurried off to his room, sitting on the bed to do his homework. Still though, he could barely concentrate. He was tired, he guessed, from getting little sleep. Besides, Johnny's strange behavior was working him up.

It wasn't so unprecedented, though. Three years before, Johnny's father had broken his leg. They didn't hear from him for over a month, because there was no way for him to move. That had been a scary couple of weeks. But still, after that, Johnny had acted the same as usual. Flighty and nervous, yes, but glad to see everyone. He had been very glad to see them, in fact.

By the time Darry called for dinner, Pony had barely finished the first sheet of math problems.

"How's it going?" Darry asked. He nodded towards the bedroom, and Pony figured he meant his work.

"It's fine," he murmured. "You want me to set the table?"

"Nah, I already did it," Darry said. They sat down, Pony taking a heap of the eggs onto his plate.

"Pony?" Darry said, after a minute. "Can we talk about somethin' for a minute?"

"Sure, Dar," Pony said, barely thinking twice. Darry often prompted conversations that way.

"I wanted to ask you about your nightmares."

"Yeah?" Pony looked up sharply.

Darry nodded, his expression one of discomfort. "Soda mentioned something about it to me, and I just wanted to…"

Pony shook his head, frowning. Damn Soda. Why would he tell Darry? "I'm fine Darry, honest," he said, at once.

"It's just," Darry continued, "They were always about mom and dad, and now about Johnny. It makes me worry about you."

"I'm fine," Pony repeated emphatically. He glared sourly at his plate, hoping Darry would get the message. He didn't want to talk about it.

For once, the elder brother backed off. "Alright," he held up his hands in surrender, and then continued his dinner.

After dinner finished, Pony quickly excused himself to his room. He struggled through the rest of his homework, and then quietly told Darry he was going to sleep.

"You sure? It's only nine."

"I'm pretty tired," Pony said.

"Okay. Well, night."

Pony waved, trudging back to his room. He lay down, falling asleep almost instantly.

His sleep was quickly plagued by dreams – scary ones, like the night before. He had the dream with the fire again. It felt so real. They were at a church, and there were all of these kids…

He was conscious of screaming, telling Johnny not to go in there. See, he knew better now. Johnny couldn't go in the fire.

"I'll be fine, Pony," Johnny said, smiling. He looked so cheerful and sounded so sure, that Pony let him go. After all, maybe if he disagreed, Johnny would stop talking to him again. The thought made him shudder, and all dream-recognition faded. He watched as Johnny went into the building.

"Hey Johnny!"

Dream-Pony fell flat on his face, although he wasn't sure why. He recognized another voice.

"Johnny! Hey kid!" Dally?

"Johnny!" Pony screamed along with Dally, although when he tried to get into the building, he couldn't.

He watched Dally go, feeling as if hours passed as he waited. Then, there was a loud scream.

"Johnny, Johnny no!" Dally's voice.

Pony pounded at the door. "Johnny! Dally! Come out of there!" The door slowly faded though, and Pony woke up screaming.

A/N: Second chapter! I would love any kind of feedback, so please review!


	3. Storytelling

A/N: Ugh, I am so sorry that it took me so long to update this. ... If anyone's still reading it, that is.

"Pony!"

Ponyboy winced, his eyes glued purposefully on the kitchen table. He heard as Darry slammed the phone down, heard his bulky footsteps in from the living room. "Pony, that was your English teacher. Said you feel asleep in class and started cryin' in your sleep. He's concerned." Darry folded his arms, his broad frame ominous in his black t-shirt. "So am I. Pony... what's goin' on with you?"

"Nothin'," Pony replied, trying to sound bored. "Just haven't been getting much sleep lately. I'll get better Darry. Promise." He didn't meet his brother's eyes, and Darry scoffed.

"You better try, kid. I know you can't help 'em nightmares of yours, but maybe there's somethin' we could try. Goin to bed earlier, or I dunno... tea." Pony spit out a laugh, and Darry eventually grinned with him. "Well, I don't know!" he said. "Just try something. I'll have to take you to the doctor if this gets any worse."

Pony nodded, his reply quiet. "Yeah, yeah." He had a nightmare every time he shut his eyes now. There was no escape. He'd gotten pretty good at covering it up though, staying quiet so he didn't wake Soda, but he almost always screamed at the real scary ones.

Steve and Dally both came for dinner that night, and the dreams were forgotten momentarily. Dally was in an unusually good mood, laughing and everything, but Steve was more grim than normal. Soda whispered to Pony that his dad had given him a rough couple of days, and that was why. Pony only shrugged. He knew very little about Steve's home life, other than the fact that it could not be as bad as Johnny's. At least, he didn't think so. Steve didn't walk around with bruises on his face and whiplash on his arms, did he?

"Hey Dar," Soda asked, following his brother into the kitchen. "Mind if Steve stays on the couch tonight? I think he could use the time away from his old man."

"Course," Darry replied, frowning. "You don't have to ask."

Soda smirked at him, long fingers moving to rest on his brother's shoulder. "Last time I didn't you threw a fit."

"Oh. Well, it's fine." They both gave little smiles, but Pony's ears tingled painfully at the thought. His neck started sweating bullets, and he bit his tongue. What if he had one of those screaming nightmares again? Steve would definitely wake up, and then... he hated considering what would happen. Steve thought he was a baby already, and nightmares certainly wouldn't make him seem any tougher.

"I - I'm not so hungry, Dar," Pony said, rising abruptly from the table. "I think I'm gonna go to sleep."

"Now?" Dally smirked, tipping his chair backed so it skid against the wooden floor. "Darry, what're you doin to the poor kid? Makin' him go to bed at..." his dangerous eyes fluttered towards the clock on the wall, and he snorted, "...8:15?"

Darry smirked right on back, swiping Dally's third beer from his hands. "I think you've had enough of that, Dal." Dally jutted towards the bottle impulsively, and Pony exited quickly to the diversion of shattering glass. He was half relieved and half annoyed when Soda came up behind him, his face soft.

"You okay, Pony? I mean... you nervous?"

Pony shrugged, hands going into his pockets. "I mean, I don't know..."

"Don't you worry about Steve, okay? He wouldn't say anything if I asked him not to."

"Really?" Pony didn't believe that for a second, but it was nice to know that Soda would ask for him if that was needed.

"Course not," Soda replied. "He does like you, you know. I think you're growin' on him. "

Pony smiled, too fond of his brother to ruin this assumption. "Sure, sure. Night Soda."

"Night Pony." He left the room with a wave, shutting the door behind him.

By the time Pony had climbed into bed, he had relaxed some. Soda would take care of it, he hummed to himself. Besides, maybe Darry was right. Maybe going to bed early was the trick...

About midnight - thank God it hadn't been before Dally left, which was late enough - Pony awoke, a keening wail escaping him before he could control himself. This dream was the worst yet.

Johnny on a stretcher, his face all burned up. Pony thought that his injuries from home were bad looking, but they were nothing like this. These were red, angry marks, drenching his body in an anguished scale.

"Pony! Pony!" He was sobbing by the time Soda's arms were around him, but he quickly stuffed a fist in his mouth to muffle the sound.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," Pony insisted, his tears slowing as he wiped his eyes. "Just... I never know they're dreams when I'm in 'em so they seem so real..." He hiccuped softly, but not before the door opened with a click.

Pony held his breath, praying it was Darry, but Steve's ragged head of hair met his sight instead. Pony almost laughed, since he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen the Greaser without grease.

"What's goin on?" Steve panted, confused. He'd obviously just woken up. Pony quickly threw himself back against the pillows, pretending to be asleep.

"Nothin'," Soda replied innocently, fibbing naturally.

"I thought I heard screamin'..."

"You were dreamin', Steve," Soda said, his voice conveying the irony without a quaver. "Go back to sleep."

"Alright..." And Steve lumbered away, far easily than Soda had expected.

"Soda," Pony whispered, his eyes already drifting shut. "Thanks."

"Course." Soda threw an arm over him, rubbing his hair in affection. "Night Pony."

"...Soda?"

"Yeah, Pone?"

"Wanna know what scares me most about the dreams? I mean, why they seem so different from normal dreams?"

"What?"

"They kinda seem like they're tellin' a story..." Pony said. He'd been scared to admit it up till now, thinking it would make him seem even nuttier.

To Pony's surprised, Soda laughed: an easy, friendly sound. "You must have one helluva imagination."

A/N: That's all for now! I know it was a bit short, but hopefully more will come soon... thank you so much for reviewing!


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